Development within flood control storage zones of TVA reservoirs.
18 C.F.R. § 1304.407
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) Activities involving development within the flood control storage zone on TVA reservoirs will be reviewed to determine if the proposed activity qualifies as a repetitive action. Under TVA's implementation of Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, repetitive actions are projects within a class of actions TVA has determined to be approvable without further review and documentation related to flood control storage, provided the loss of flood control storage caused by the project does not exceed one acre-foot. A partial list of repetitive actions includes:
(1) Private and public water-use facilities;
(2) Commercial recreation boat dock and water-use facilities;
(3) Water intake structures;
(4) Outfalls;
(5) Mooring and loading facilities for barge terminals;
(6) Minor grading and fills; and
(7) Bridges and culverts for pedestrian, highway, and railroad crossings.
(b) Projects resulting in flood storage loss in excess of one acre-foot will not be considered repetitive actions.
(c) For projects not qualifying as repetitive actions, the applicant shall be required, as appropriate, to evaluate alternatives to the placement of fill or the construction of a project within the flood control storage zone that would result in lost flood control storage. The alternative evaluation would either identify a better option or support and document that there is no reasonable alternative to the loss of flood control storage. If this determination can be made, the applicant must then demonstrate how the loss of flood control storage will be minimized.
(1) In addition, documentation shall be provided regarding:
(i) The amount of anticipated flood control storage loss;
(ii) The cost of compensation of the displaced flood control storage (how much it would cost to excavate material from the flood control storage zone, haul it to an upland site and dispose of it);
(iii) The cost of mitigation of the displaced flood control storage (how much it would cost to excavate material from another site within the flood control storage zone, haul it to the project site and use as the fill material);
(iv) The cost of the project; and
(v) The nature and significance of any economic and/or natural resource benefits that would be realized as a result of the project.
(2) TVA may, in its discretion, decline to permit any project that would result in the loss of flood control storage.
(d) Recreational vehicles parked or placed within flood control storage zones of TVA reservoirs shall be deemed an obstruction affecting navigation, flood control, or public lands or reservations within the meaning of section 26a of the Act unless they:
(1) Remain truly mobile and ready for highway use. The unit must be on its wheels or a jacking system and be attached to its site by only quick disconnect type utilities;
(2) Have no permanently attached additions, connections, foundations, porches, or similar structures; and
(3) Have an electrical cutoff switch that is located above the flood control zone and fully accessible during flood events.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-18.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026